BIRD BACK IN BMW FOR BAHRAIN WORLD FINAL

Bird will fly out to the Bahrain International Circuit next week to join his Fortec team in the campaign to secure the title of Formula BMW World Champion.  The six-time race-winning driver intends to stake his claim in the $US60,000 prize money and, the real drawcard, a test drive in a BMW Formula 1 car.

As a Young Driver of the Year finalist, Bird has driven a World Series by Renault, a Caterham, a DTM and a British Touring Car since the season ended.  In addition Bird has been busy with F3 testing and charity kart racing in the past month.  But the newly-minted BRDC Rising Star says he is looking forward to racing his BMW again.  “When you’re on the pace it is still the same exhilarating feeling no matter what you are driving,” he said, “and hopefully I can round off the year in style.”

This year is BMW’s premier World Final.  Three dozen Formula BMW drivers from across the world, all of who have qualified in one of four series - in Europe, Asia, the USA and the UK - are competing for the bragging rights to the World Title.  The four-day event has the drivers enjoying free practice, qualifying, heats, a pre-final and final around the 3.596km circuit on Bahrain’s Formula 1 track.

Bird, who ultimately finished a narrow second in the UK Championship after leading for the majority of the season, is looking forward to competing against the world’s best in the developmental category.  “I think drivers from the UK series will put on a good showing and I’m looking forward to racing against drivers from the more established regional Championships.”

In the lead up to Bahrain, the 18-year-old will be on stage at the Autosport Awards on Sunday as one of the top six young British drivers who took part in the two-day evaluation for the McLaren Autosport BRDC Young Driver Award.  Motorsport’s weekly bible, which rated Bird as “undeniably the class of the field throughout the season”, will present the winner with a test drive in a Formula 1 car – something that has stirred Bird’s imagination by making him eligible for two Formula 1 test drives in the upcoming weeks.